John Wayne's youngest son is already 56 years old and is following in his father's footsteps

Ethan, the 56-year-old son of actor John Wayne and Peruvian actress Pilar Pallete, followed his legendary father's footsteps and turned into an actor.

John passed away at age 72 from cancer in 1979. However, his memory still lives on today most notably through his youngest child Ethan.

After the demise of his dad, Ethan began doing stunt work. His first movie was "The Blues Brothers."

“I can’t pick up a broom to this day without thinking about him coming out and saying, ‘That’s not how you sweep, this is how you sweep!’”

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He then returned to work as an actor. In 1981, he was picked to star on two films – "Longshot" and "Scream."

Later works include, "The Alamo: 13 Days to Glory," and "The Bold and the Beautiful."

In 2014, Ethan made an appearance as an expert on John Wayne memorabilia on History Channel's Pawn Stars in the episode "Dog Day Afternoon."

The actor has kept a low profile lately. Though he rarely gives interviews, he recently talked with Fox News.

During the interview, Ethan opened up about what it was like growing up with the late Hollywood legend.

“I can remember going to a friend’s house and his mom said, ‘Hey Brian, go get the mail,’” he recounted.

“I went out and there were three envelopes. I remember going, ‘That’s all the mail you got? That’s weird.’ The US postal service would drag those canvas bags with lots of mail to my house. It was strange.”

Ethan described his childhood as ordinary in spite of having a notable actor for a father.

“I can’t pick up a broom to this day without thinking about him coming out and saying, ‘That’s not how you sweep, this is how you sweep!’” said Ethan.

“And it was with this big push broom. And he wasn’t very mechanical. He was great with his gun, he was great on a horse and he handled boats really well."

He added, "But if a car got a flat tire, he’d just leave it. And I was very mechanical as a young boy for some reason. I really enjoyed taking stuff apart and putting it back together. He really didn’t get it. He didn’t like motorcycles, and I did.”

His father was determined to be a hands-on parent. He said that he grew up on film sets, where he learned about the hard work it took to bring Hollywood to life.

Ethan now manages John Wayne Enterprises. He also serves as the director of the John Wayne Cancer Foundation and created its Team DUKE fundraising program.